BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I would imagine getting the churches on board would be the hard part - I assume it's largely churchgoers parked on 5th on Sundays (is there really a law making *that* legal, btw?)

cool idea though

Speaking as a crazy-ass brevetter, I'd love to cool down the legs with a relaxing cruise on 5th some Sunday.

We've been exploring this idea for two years and two dates have now fallen through due to myriad factors. We're still trying to do this though!

It might not be as hard to get the church on board as you might think. One of the big current concepts in church design is to give people big gathering spaces to socialize and form "community", so people don't just run away back to their houses or the mall. Imagine if you could tell them they would have a couple thousand people strolling or biking by, and people could hang on the steps in front of the church without having road dust and bus fumes blown up in their faces.

I also believe churches,especially on a sunday morning, would vehemently be against this idea.It is a great thought.This is why we so desperately need trails or bike lanes.I would especially like to have a bike lane on East Carson from Station Square to Neville Island.

That's awesome Scott. I'd like to keep track of progress on that. This would something great.

As I said, I'm not a mover/shaker, but if you need me to, I can be a plant in a crowd, you know, stand in the back and say, "hey, that sounds like a darn good idea to me".

I don't know enough about this city to know if it's possible but it sounds like a great idea. I was in Portland a couple of years ago during their first Sunday Parkways (http://www.streetfilms.org/portlands-sunday-parkways/) where they closed six miles for six hours and it was amazing! There were stops all over the route for activities and food. Even though it was raining, there were tons of people out and it seemed like a collective swoon, everyone was so excited. So many old people and babies and others running and riding and learning how to walk on stilts together.

Sennott St. in South Oakland is closed on Fridays during the summer for the farmer's market. I love it! People biking, walking, eating healthy! Glorious.

Oh! This is a great idea Edmond!!!! I mean, Pittsburgh is already a relatively bike-friendly city, so to close-up areas of town to promote cycling doesn't seem as necessary to me.... BUT, I remember HOW MUCH FUN I had riding around downtown when the G20 was going on.... I work downtown, and at my lunch hour I would just roam around all over the place enjoying the car-free environment!

They just started this down in Mexico City (which --trust me-- is not very bike-friendly.... I mean, just driving a car is a kamikaze act!).... BUT, yes.... sundays Avenida Reforma (one of the most beautiful & major avenues in the city) is closed down to vehicular traffic & open for people to bring their bikes & ride around..... and even you don't have a bike, the city has 'rentals' just for this purpose...... the program is called "Ecobici" which translates into "Ecobikes" .... the program is actually more elaborate, where one can actually -rent- bikes too during the week to ride in certain neighborhoods, but don't know all the details.

Mexico, DF is a city that is at-times set in its ways, so the program has had many people criticizing it and making fun of it, BUT, people -specially young one, are taking advantage of it and -very slowly- a cyclist community is growing.... Right now there is even an exhibition "Dreams on Wheels" about the history of cycling in Denmark, and how cycling is a sustainable-way of living in any city.

Anyhow, I've been following this closely since I'm originally from Mexico & 'cause I'm exited about this since it is ABOUT TIME they did something like this!

Here some links on the news related to Mexico City's "Cycling Revolution"! PLUS..... Mexico City's own "Cycle-Chic" blog or "Le Bici Chic" blog... as a homage to Copenhagen's original.

http://mexicocyclechic.blogspot.com/

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/663774.html

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/659203.html

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/ciudad/100451.html

OOps... yes... the links are in spanish, but yeah....

And here... a shot of "Avenida Reforma" so you can get an idea of what kind of ride it is!

This is a fantastic idea. I agree with edmonds that you might be able to pitch the "community" bit to a church....maybe adjust the hours a bit to accommodate, or only close Fifth (if that's the street to use) up to Craig, so that folks can use Bayard to get out if they want.

Whatever the case, I love the idea.

do it! but churches preaching social justice... we all know what that means...

That image of Mexico City is beautiful! Certainly different from what the American media would lead you to believe.

Scott, would it be possible to briefly say what has been considered before, and what some of the stumbling blocks were? If BikePgh is still trying to get this accomplished, I would sure like to help if I could.

They close Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park to automotive traffic on weekends in the summer. The Mall in London, in front of Buckingham Palace, is also closed to cars on Sundays.

Lest anyone say major streets can't be shut down in Pittsburgh, it already happens, twice a year: during the Great Race and the Marathon. Of course, those both happen with enormous planning and other logistical issues. Likewise the deserted streets downtown during the G-20.

One issue with closing such a long stretch of the street would be crossing from the north to the south side of town--it's kind of a long detour trying to get to Shadyside from, say, Wilkins if Fifth Avenue is blocked from Oakland to Point Breeze. Maybe at a few key intersections there could be a chance to cross over. Or not! I guess in a car, it's less of a hassle as a detour--and drivers already have to deal with much more complicated road closures during those foot races.

Easier to do a major street in a residential neighborhood than one in Oakland or Downtown. Say, Walnut in Shadyside, Shady in SqHill, Wylie in the Hill, Western on the North Side, ECarson on the South Side, etc.

Stu, I say go big or go home At least as a target. Fifth Ave is like the main vein of the East end. And it's flat, and wide, it's like the darn Champs Elysee. If these other immense cities can do this why not the 'burgh?

If it would be possible to do the route I suggested (Fifth Ave.), you could lessen the impact (to cars) by having limited guarded car crossings with flag people at, say, Morewood and Negley. Otherwise, there are many automotive alternatives to Fifth Ave, which is one of the reasons it makes so much sense to me.

I think a bigger hangup than the churches would be all the residents along Fifth, they would resist, probably at least until they saw it work.

If you start big, and try for more than you expect to get, it might happen. But if not then you will have room to reduce your demands.

So if you start looking at Fifth and then scale down a little bit when people protest ("we're not going to protest!") you look soooo reasonable.

Ooo! Love the D.F pic. I was just in Mexico, and was in D.F back-and-forth a few times.. we heard about the Ecobici thing but we never happened to be in the city on a Sunday!

And yeah... riding a bike there looks so scary.